How to File an Interim Patent

An interim patent is a provisional patent application that gives an inventor the right to continue his work with an invention as well as proof of the date of the invention. It isn't examined by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, or USPTO, and no patent can be issued as a result. However, filing is a way for an inventor to prove that something was actually created on or before that date, and it might be the only way he can protect his invention from infringement before filing an actual claim.

• 1

  Type up a written description of the invention for the filing, and include any drawings that might improve understanding of the invention.

• 2

  Download and print the cover sheet form from the Patent Office website. Fill out the cover sheet and place it on the packet of documents that make up the patent application. The cover sheet must contain the name of all inventors filing for the patent, their addresses, the title of the invention, name and registration of any attorney involved in the filing process, a correspondence address for the inventors, and the name of any U.S. government agency with a property interest in the invention.

• 3

  Call the USPTO Contact Center at 800-786-9199 to learn the current filing fee amount. You can pay with a check or money order made out to Director of the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.

• 4

  Mail the paperwork and the fee to the Commissioner for Patents, P.O. Box 1450, Alexandria, VA 22313-1450.